TiVo on promotion drive

TiVo boxes will be available with a $150 rebate through Nov. 27 this year, the company announced Tuesday.

With the mail-in discount, the Series2 40-hour digital video recorder will cost $49.99 including service activation, the DVR maker said, claiming that this is the lowest price ever for a DVR. The rebate does not pertain to DirecTV DVRs with TiVo. Buyers will have to activate their service before Jan. 15, 2006, to qualify for the rebate.

The marketing push comes after a recent drop in the company's business. Additions to its fee-based TV recording service in the second quarter fell to 254,000 subscribers from 288,000 in the same quarter a year earlier. The drop is mainly due to a 5 percent decline in new customers from DirecTV, TiVo's biggest source of new customers. DirecTV has said it plans to stop marketing products of Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo.

The service provider also unveiled a contest to encourage referrals. The winner will get $25,000 and a TiVo-branded Mini Cooper. Members of the TiVo Rewards program with 25,000 points to their credit before the contest start date of Nov. 27, will be eligible to participate. They also need to submit a creative video about their qualifications as a TiVo ambassador, an essay about TiVo and a testimonial from a friend recommending the service. The contest closes on Dec. 31.

"Every day I run into subscribers who tell me, 'You wouldn't believe how many TiVo boxes I've sold.' Now we're giving them a chance to prove it," Tom Rogers, CEO of TiVo, said in a statement.

Correction: This story incorrectly stated the duration of TiVo's mail-in rebate. The device will be available with the rebate until late November.